Avoid a parking ticket - just by driving away

Millions of motorists could escape parking fines by driving away before the ticket is placed on their windscreen, after a landmark High Court case.

Judges ruled that businessman Simeon Ademolake does not have to pay a £50 fine because the warden had not placed the ticket on his car before he drove off.

He hailed the result as a 'victory for motorists' following a two-year fight after he complained that he could not legally be forced to pay.

On Tuesday the High Court judges agreed in a ruling that could open the floodgates for a barrage of similar appeals.

Mr Ademolake, 43, said after the ruling in a judicial review: "This was an important point of principle. Parking wardens cannot break the law. They'll now think twice about illegally putting tickets on cars.

"The system has been driven by raising cash, not keeping roads clear. And that's wrong. They act as if motorists are breaking the law. But it is they who are in the wrong."

Motoring groups hope it might put an end to the practice of "rogue" wardens spurred on by cash-driven targets trying to trap unwary drivers.

They point out that a high proportion of tickets are issued as drivers return to their cars to find a warden writing out the ticket - yet insist on issuing it, even though the motorist drives off before it is fully written out and placed on the vehicle.

Mr Ademolake, who runs a fashion business, received the £50 fine through the post after he stopped his car briefly on a red route on Commercial Road in London's Whitechapel in June 2005.

He disputed the charge and took it to the independent adjudicator, the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service.

It ruled in his favour after he explained that the warden had not issued a ticket by placing it on the car or handing it to him.

But Transport for London refused to abide by the adjudication and instead contested it in the High Court, which rejected its case.

Mr Ademolake, who is also a councillor for the Christian Peoples' Alliance, criticised Transport for London for wasting taxpayers' money.

He said: "I have studied the law and I

knew I was acting within it. I was actually parked in a loading bay, but one of my rear wheels was on a red line. I had only popped into a shop for five minutes and when I came out I apologised to the warden.

"I could see he hadn't started writing the ticket so I said I would move the car and got in. He said he had to give me a ticket, but I knew I was within my rights and drove off.

"A week later I got the fine. He must have written down my registration number as I was driving away.

"The adjudicators said I was in the right because I hadn't tried to obstruct the warden or prevent him from doing his job. Transport for London have wasted a lot of time and money appealing this when they knew they were wrong."

Transport for London said: "We issued this penalty notice in good faith following a contravention on a red route and will be closely reviewing the details of the judgment."

The case means wardens will now have to put the ticket on the car or hand it to the driver for it to be valid.

The RAC said it was unlikely drivers would be allowed to challenge their fines retrospectively, although it would depend on the appeal authorities.

Edmund King, of the RAC Foundation, said: "This is a significant and important judgment. It injects a much-needed bout of common sense into the parking system." Vince Yearly, of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said: "Often people feel hard done by when they get a ticket. It is reassuring to see a judgment that helps redress the balance."

• The number of parking tickets issued rose by nearly 20 per cent in the last year to a record high of more than 3.4 million, according to the National Parking Adjudication Service.

The rise has been driven by more councils cashing in after taking over responsibility for parking enforcement from the police - and swelling their coffers to the tune of more than £200million a year.